The ‘grand coalition’ of popular, socialists and liberals resists the ultra push and retains the majority

The ‘grand coalition’ of popular, socialists and liberals – which has guaranteed the governability of the EU during the last legislature – achieves retain the absolute majority in the European Parliament after the 9-J elections, with around 400 seats of the 720 at stake. And this despite the rise of radical right and far-right forces throughout the continent, which manage to add around 20% of the seats but They are left without blocking capacity in the new Parliamentaccording to provisional results.

The result, welcomed with great relief in Brussels, facilitates the re-election of Ursula von der Leyen for a second term as president of the European Commission, since the European People’s Party (EPP) has clearly won the elections. The German first needs to be appointed by the heads of State and Government of the 27. The first summit to debate the distribution of senior positions in the EU It is scheduled for June 17.

The explosion of the radical right has caused earthquakes in several Member States. The ultras have won the elections in France, Italy, Austria and Hungary and are in second place in Germany, Poland and the Netherlands. In Paris, the president Emmanuel Macron has called legislative elections for June 30 and July 7 after suffering a severe defeat at the hands of the National Group of Marine Le Penwhich doubles him in votes and seats.

In Berlin, the traffic light coalition government Olaf Scholz has also reaped a resounding failure. The Social Democrats have fallen to third position, while the Greens are fourth and the Liberals sixth. The elections were won by the Christian Democrats of the CDU. But Alternative for Germanya party infiltrated by Russia and China and that whitewashes the Hitlerite SS, has come in second position.

In Italy all the polls show the Brothers of Italy as clear winners. Giorgia Meloni. For their part, in Poland, Donald Tusk’s Christian Democrats have managed to defeat the Law and Justice ultras in the European elections for the first time since 2014.

Despite the push of the ultras, the PPE (in which Von der Leyen is active) He has comfortably won the elections and obtains 189 of the 720 seats at stake (13 more than in the previous elections in 2019. In second position are the European Socialists (S&D), who would have a total of 135 seats, four less than in 2019. They fall the liberals of Renew (up to 80 seats, compared to the current 102) and the Greens (52 seats, compared to the current 72).

In the internal struggle, the winner is the group of European Conservatives and Reformists (ECR)led by the Italian Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloniand in which Vox and the Poles from Law and Justice also participate: they would get 72 seats, compared to the current 69.

The second far-right group in the European Parliament, Identity and Democracywhose boss is Marine Le Pen, is the one that rises the most with 58 MEPs, compared to the current 49. In Identity and Democracy there are also the League of Matteo Salvinithe PPV of Geert Wilders or the Austrian FPÖ. Finally, in the Non-Registered group, Alternative for Germany (the second force in its country) wins 17 seats, while Viktor Orbán’s Fidesz would contribute another 9 deputies.

Repeat the ‘grand coalition’

Even before knowing the definitive data, the president of the EPP, the German Manfred Weberhas specifically asked socialists and liberals to join a “pro-democratic and pro-European alliance”. Weber calls on them to “respect the results” and support Von der Leyen for the presidency of the Commission.

Specifically, the president of the EPP has addressed Chancellor Scholz to propose Von der Leyen as Germany’s candidate for the Community Executive, even though she is not from the same political family. And to President Macron to abandon his search for alternative candidates (such as Mario Draghi) and support the German one. Weber claims that will not allow the parties that “want to destroy Europe” to have influence.

For his part, the vice president of the European socialist group, Pedro Marques, has congratulated the EPP and Von der Leyen and has assured that his political family “will fully respect the principle of Spitzenkandidat.” That is to say, the socialists are willing to support the German in exchange for an agreed program with a series of conditions.

The only red line for the socialists is that they will not accept coalitions with the extreme right, neither with ECR nor with Identity and Democracy. “We want a broad pro-European majority for the entire mandate,” said Marques.